Lifestyles

The Tejanos of South Texas

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The video at the visitors center at Mission San Jose in San Antonio concluded with an interesting dialogue between a child and her mother. The child states that the indigenous people who lived in the mission have all died, but the mother asks her to look in the mirror and she will see these people are alive and living in South Texas.

This video talked about Tejanos being the people of Spanish, Mexican, Indigenous and Meztizo roots who shaped the San Antonio landscape with acequias, farm fields, ranchlands, and mission communities. Both Catholicism and a strong Tejano heritage are still present here in the people, food, and cultural traditions.

After my visit to the missions, I met with Dr. Sarah Gould who is the curator at the University of Texas Institute of Texas Cultures who talked to me about the Tejano exhibition at the institute. The ITC consists of small exhibitions of the many countries that exported immigrants to the state and their contributions. I noticed a few years ago that there was no space dedicated to Mexico or Spain and it intrigued me to the point of upsetting me. Last month, I had the pleasure of meeting Sarah Gould who curated the new Tejano display and I asked her why Tejano and not Mexico and Spain? Below is my interview with her.

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About the Author

Nydia O

La Vida Valle is where I write about "la vida" my life in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. I write about the food, the culture, the good times and the bad. I write about the people who make El Valle festive and laid back at the same time.
Contributions and comments are always welcome
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